Baboons – Clancy Abroad

Injusuthi Drakensburg to Monks Cowl

Our last day in Injusuthi turned cold and rainy. The temperature peaked at 6C, and we ran the diesel heater all day in the camper. We left Friday morning.

We moved a whole 8.7km straight line from Injusuthi to Monks Cowl, however it required 50km of driving. Part way through the drive we stopped to look at some vultures, and I found oil leaking from the engine. We pulled a way off the road, and examined things, and it looked quite bad. However I re-clamped the alternator return oil hose, and it was fixed. We were on the road again, after a oil top up.

Monks Cowl is a valley over from Injusuthi. However the Monks Cowl valley is totally different from Injusuthi. The Injusuthi valley has a spread out village, that ends at the park border. Then 12km of nothing until you get to the campsite. It feels pretty remote. The Monks Cowl valley is full of tourist facilities. Bakeries, restaurants, zip-lines, hotels and more.

We got to Monks Cowl and found a good campsite. We had to be careful again, Vervet monkeys and Baboons were around. It was still pretty cold and overcast, so we didn’t do much the afternoon we got there. Next day in the afternoon we did a walk out to Sterkspruit Falls, when it was sunny.

On the way out Sunday morning we visited the Falcon Ridge Bird of Prey Centre, which puts on a display every day. It was an hour long with lots of Eagles, Falcons and more put through their paces.

The clouds came down and filled the valley

Clouds and rain, we put up the newly fixed awning

The up to 3200m Drakensberg peaks overlooking Monks Cowl

Drakensberg

We arrived at Injusuthi camp Monday afternoon, finding we were the only campers there. It is such a stunning location. The camp is at 1500m, while around the camp towers the Drakensberg mountains from 2000m to 3500m.

The campsite is plagued by Baboons, we have to be careful keeping everything closed up.

The next day on Tuesday, in great weather, about 28C and sunny, we spent the afternoon walking to Grindstone cave. It was only about 3.5km, but 350m of altitude gain. We were already at 1500m, so we found it hard, and gave up and turned back 2/3 of the way in.

On Wednesday we headed for Battle cave, about 6km away, and again 350m of altitude gain. The weather was good, sunny and warm. We headed along a river valley following the river on a track cut into the hillside above. We crossed the river, continued on the other side and then crossed at a confluence of two rivers. The rivers flow well, fed by creeks and waterfalls high up the hills. Eventually we got to Battle cave, and unlocked the gate with the key we got from reception. Some of the San paintings under the rock overhang were very detailed, with fine lines for things like spears.

We headed back to camp. We were trying to get back before a cool change came through the area.

Save River Conservancy to Fishans camp, Gonarezhou National Park

Another cool morning, we started the diesel heater for a while. Or we are getting used to the warmer weather, and we are getting wimpy in the morning needing the heater. We headed into Humani compound, and paid for four nights camping. We headed south, stopping at a dam along side the road. it had a couple of locals washing clothes. However in the dam we counted 7 crocs, that we could see. About 100km south we got to Chiredzi. We visited the Pick n Pay supermarket, finding we couldn’t get any tissues (this has been the case at several supermarkets), or any aluminum foil. We also couldn’t find any bulk supplies of water.

We headed out of Chiredzi towards the gate of Gonarezhou National Park about 50km away. A very helpful ranger gave us some camping options. In the park if you book ahead it can be as much as $USD65 per night per person. However if you just roll up it can be as cheap as $USD27.50 per night per person. However there are park charges and other charges, meaning that 10 nights was costing us $USD1000. We topped up our water supply at one of the campsites and headed via the winding and at times rough track into Fishans. We passed elephants, kudu, zebra, lots of antelopes, and baboons. Close to sunset we crossed the Runde river via a rough stone causeway, and just on dark made it to Fishans campsite which is about 20km from the Mozambique border.

We drove through a sugar cane growing area

The view of the Runde river from camp at Fishans

Thorn Tree Safaris Zambia to Johannesburg South Africa

I left Karen at Livingstone airport, and drove back into Livingstone, and then headed south. I got to the Zambian border, with the fixers trying to stop me at the beginning of the bridge at Kazungula. Over the bridge, into the combined border crossing on the Botswana side. It was about 15 minutes, paid my bridge toll to the Botswana customs, and had my vehicle checked, then I was out to Kazungula. I went to the supermarket, then headed south towards Nata.

I saw an elephant and baby not far south, and a few giraffes. However it was all pretty dry compared to when I had travelled south a bit more than a year ago. At the wild camp, which I had camped at a year ago, 200km down the road, I stopped about 30 minutes before sunset.

I had a quiet night, but even though I was 500m from the Nata road, I could still hear the traffic.

Next morning I got going about 7:30am. I stopped at Nata for more fuel. Then continued south. The road south of Nata is a bit narrow with broken edges, so I wasn’t going fast, maybe 65kph. Eventually I got to Francistown, which was busy. I thought about headed to the shopping mall on the main street, but it was way too busy, and jammed with cars, so I continued on south. I was going to stay at a campsite at Palapye, but the latest iOverlander review said someone had got robbed their. So I decided to turn off earlier and head to an iOverlander wild camp, east of Palapye, that had got good reviews. I got to the quarry just before dusk, and it was a great quiet place to camp.

Up and going at 6:30am I headed for the border at Martins Drift. I tried to get fuel at the servo near the border, but their network was down, and they couldn’t take a credit card. I cleared the Botswana border, and then managed to weave through the trucks on the South African side. I managed this time to get a TIP (temporary import permit), after about 30 minutes of waiting. Then old though the Police check at the exit to the border crossing. I stopped amongst the dozens of trucks on the South African side and put up the starlink dish, and added data to my Vodacom sim, and then heade south-east. I got more fuel, and kept driving until I got to the Weesgerus campsite near Modimolle. I was jammed in with lots of other caravans, because it was school holidays.

Its an OK campground, and the next morning I got going around 7:30am. It was 10km to the N1, where I hit a police checkpoint. I managed to get though that and worked my way down the N1 for 180km to Johannesburg. I arrived at Airport en Route around 1pm in the afternoon. Total trip around 5,000km.

First wild camp, around 200km south of Kazungula

Nunda River Lodge to Muduma National Park

It took us a while to pack up at Nunda, we had been there for four days, and we had spread ourselves out. It was 9:30am before we left. We went first to the Hardware store in Divundu and after consulting with the security guard bought a Potjie, a South African cast iron pot with legs that you place on a campfire. We had not been able to get any more gas canisters, so it was wood fires from now on. We got more supplies and drinking water from the Metro supermarket in Divundu, one of the largest supermarkets we had been to in recent weeks. Then it was off west along the strip towards Kongola. We stopped to look at an elephant wandering near the road, part way to Kongola. We got more fuel at Kongola, then headed south. We stopped at a village and bought their entire stock of firewood (about $9 worth), all the kids coming out to help with the sale.

We arrived at the entrance to Muduma Park. We had heard you couldn’t book ahead, and that camp 3 and 4 were the best. However Camp 3 and 4 were booked, so we paid for Camp 2 for one night, then would shift to Camp 4 for 3 more nights. The camps in Muduma are wild, no facilities at all, not even a pit toilet.

Camp 2 was good, if not somewhat scary. There were Hippos in the Lagoon in front of the camp, Elephant dung everywhere. We saw Zebras, warthogs ,Baboons and antelope driving in. We also knew that there might be lions around as well. There are no fences anywhere.

We lit a fire and used our Potjie for the first night, and it went well.

Next morning after a night of Hippo calling we shifted to camp 4. During the drive to camp 4 we got held up by a herd of 40+ elephants blocking the track, which we waited 30 minutes to pass. At camp 4 we jammed ourselves in a spot overlooking the lagoon, which was great for viewing the Hippos, and Elephants in the distance. We stayed four days, five nights in camp 4. We extended our stay part way though, driving back to the entrance office.

The Hippos entertained us every night. The Baboons woke us up some mornings. We had Elephants walk past on afternoon. We had Warthogs having mud baths near us, and Antelopes. Bats at night catching the bugs. It was hot weather, 39C most days, cooling to 22C overnight.